News

Children of all abilities and needs should have room to play and explore their world. In fact, play is so important for a child’s development that the United Nations declared play is a human right for children. Making your home a place where a child with special needs can be active takes more than a look around. You’ll want to brainstorm ways the outside can be an inclusive sanctuary for children of all abilities, too.

Every child needs good sleep for healthy development, growth, and learning. As parents, it’s your job to help children establish good sleep habits for a lifetime. Children learn how to sleep from their parents, so the habits you establish today can help them maintain healthy sleep not just in childhood, but for the rest of their lives. But while establishing good sleep is important for children, parents may feel a little lost when it comes to actually teaching good sleep habits. This is particularly apparent during the challenges of newborn sleep, toddler sleep resistance, and the never ending struggle in older children between endless activities and adequate rest. In this guide, parents and caregivers can learn more about helping children sleep healthy. The guide shares common sleep challenges for young children, school age children, and teens, along with helpful tips and resources for making the most of sleep at each stage. You can also learn about creating a healthy sleep environment for your child and discover useful resources for learning everything you need to know about why and how we sleep — and how to make sleep better for children.

The transitional weeks between end of summer and early fall often prove unexpectedly hectic. As families try to squeeze in one more long weekend, unearth a few extra days of vacation, or begin to gear up for the busy fall season, this time of year typically feels anything but relaxing. Factor a newborn into that mix, and stress levels can skyrocket, causing new Moms to feel pressured and exhausted as they struggle to adjust to the changes brought about by the arrival of a new baby.

It’s the time of year when extended families – who you may not see much during the year – come together to celebrate the holidays. Thanksgiving is upon us, and if popular culture is to be believed, many parents and their adult children look forward to the holiday with a mix of pleasure and worry about how everyone will get along.

Gerontologist Karl Pillemer, professor of human development at Cornell University, has spent much of his career asking older Americans’ advice for younger people. His surveys of approximately 2,000 elders translate to the experience of around 160,000 Thanksgivings and boils down to four tips for a harmonious holiday together.

A drug-resistant "super lice" has plagued at least 25 states within the past month. While it's true that this lice are resistant to common over-the-counter lice removal treatments, this is not a new "breed" of lice; they are extremely resistant to products that have been used for years. Like any other insect, they eventually are simply not impacted by a product that is used over and over again. Lice becoming resistant to common chemicals is a predicable phenomenon.

So what should you do if you or your children get lice? If you choose to try over-the-counter products, it's important to use newer and safer ones. However, many of these products simply kill the bugs rather than removing the eggs – combing and picking through the hair with an effective combing tool is a necessity. A combing tool is scientifically documented to be three or more times effective than just looking.

A child’s sense of self is shaped by every interaction he or she has, but is shaped most powerfully by how they are loved and parented in their home. How a child sees themselves will influence every aspect of their life from their education, relationships and over-all well-being. Life is about feeling good enough, competent, loved, successful and happy and the outer world doesn’t always reflect this, so the unconditional love and acceptance at home is the catalyst for their greatness.

Light powered by dirt, a portable water filtration and purification pack, an autonomous nurse assistant and a device to detect distracted driving are a few of the young inventors' innovative humanitarian solutions to real world problems.

WASHINGTON, DC, May 12, 2015 /CNW/ - ePals, a product of Cricket Media, and the Smithsonian's Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation's Spark!Lab are pleased to announce the top winners of the 2014-2015 Spark!Lab Invent It Challenge. The four individual and four group winners, as well as the 20 honorable mentions, were selected from hundreds of creative entries by students aged five to 18 across the world.

Teaching American history to children presents a number of challenges. For any progressive student or observer of history, it is well-known that the United States has had a mixed record in its treatment of Native Americans, African Americans, women and other groups, including some especially cruel treatment. How young is too young for children to start learning about this history?

A conversation with Jennifer Senior on her book, “All Joy and No Fun” kicks off series

On Monday, May 5th (Check local listings), PBS NewsHour begins a week-long look at “Parenting Now”— examining the challenges, concerns and financial issues that modern parents face. The series starts with a report about parents trying to achieve the right balance at a time when traditional roles have changed.

Following the report, Judy Woodruff interviews Jennifer Senior, author of the book “All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood.” Woodruff speaks with Senior about how children change the lives of middle-class parents, the choices parents face and the idea of competitive parenting.

The NewsHour’s series continues throughout the week, on-air and online, with planned broadcast segments exploring different facets of modern parenthood (All air-dates are subject to change based on news developments – check local listings), including: